Christian Horner agrees with Perez on ‘bad year' as team eyes 2025

Christian Horner agrees with Sergio Perez's ‘terrible' season assessment.

Mexico City, Mexico – Red Bull Racing team principal Christian Horner has concurred with Sergio Perez's own grim reflection on his Formula 1 season, labeling it as "terrible." Despite Perez's lackluster performance, Horner confirmed that the Mexican driver remains part of Red Bull's plans for 2025.

Perez, who has not won any races this season, is currently eighth in the driver standings with only 150 points. This is the lowest points tally among drivers from the top tier teams. In stark contrast, his teammate, three-time world champion Max Verstappen, has amassed a significant 354 points.

"I think he's summed it up perfectly. It's been a bad year for Checo [Perez]. He started strongly and obviously he's struggled for form since pretty much Imola onwards and it's been sporadic," Horner stated at the Mexico City Grand Prix press conference. "Azerbaijan arguably he could have won that race almost a month ago. We know what he's capable of and we're hoping that we can give him a set-up and the confidence in the car to extract the kind of performances that we know he's very capable of."

Horner emphasized that Perez is contracted and backed by the team until 2025. "Checo is our driver. He's competitive. He's hungry. He's not happy with where he currently is. As a team, we're doing our very best to support him."

Last season’s dominant constructors, Red Bull, are now second in the standings, trailing McLaren by 40 points, with Ferrari also in close pursuit, just eight points behind.

Horner acknowledged the local support for Perez, especially at his home race. "[It is] a big weekend for him here ... I think he's endorsing every product, from Uber Eats to toilet toll," he said, highlighting Perez's marketability and immense popularity in Mexico.

Despite Perez's contract running through 2025, Horner hinted that the team would review all options at the end of this year. Red Bull Racing’s sister team, RB, is expected to see Yuki Tsunoda and Liam Lawson in their 2025 lineup.

"Checo is currently our driver for 2025. Obviously, there is a seat available in RB," Horner noted. "We have the benefit of time to sit down with [RB team principals] Peter [Bayer] and Laurent [Mekies] and look at all the options."

This statement underscores that while Perez has Red Bull's backing for now, the team is keeping an open mind regarding future driving rosters.

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